Brockton poised for new business or not?
Featured

The climate for new businesses in Brockton has been hard to predict in the past 10 years. It has not always been clear which businesses have been welcome and which ones are not. The case in point is the power plant which is being greenlighted for Oak Hill Way. Both the pro and anti power plant camps claim that they have the majority of the people’s hearts. Years ago, there was a hope by a North Shore entrepreneur to open a video game entertainment venue called “Good Time Emporium.” This venture had public hearings, and there were people who frankly hated it. This man was going to put an empty warehouse with enormous square footage to use, but there were too many delays and he was unable to secure financing. The warehouse is used, but not to its full potential. Now we have talk of a Casino at the Brockton Fairgrounds. The public seems to like it for the most part, but time will tell. George Carney, who owns the property, favors putting it to a public vote. This is good, because if anything the city doesn’t really like to have things thrown down their throat.

But what of other business? What exactly is the business climate of our city? We have a lot to offer businesses who want to be here. We have highway access. We have multiple commuter rail stations. We have the infrastructure that once supported a booming shoe industry. We should be able to attract business, right? Well, that’s a tougher nut to crack. We have our business real estate tax rate a little out of whack for the region. The only town near us that has a higher business tax rate is Holbrook, and they have very little interest in building that tax base. Many small businesses go to surrounding towns, like Easton and others who have lower tax rates. Some towns have the same business and industrial tax rates as residential.

Business tax rates tend to supplement residential tax rates in cities and towns that have a robust business community, but Brockton does not have this situation. In fact of many small cities in Massachusetts, we have one of the highest business/industrial tax rates and also a very high comparable residential tax rate. In spite of this, we have shortages in the Police department. Police being one of the best stalwarts of public safety followed closely by the Fire Department. What is the problem? Of cities that have high business tax rates, they also have strong business and industrial presence. They can afford to be picky and have a high rate. We do not. We have empty businesses all over the city. Many are turned into residences and removed from the rolls as business properties. Is this the way we want to go?

Businesses use less city services. They use less Police, Fire, water, and others. They should be a net gain of revenue to the city. Not to mention the jobs they create.

The power plant and the casino are slated to bring in huge amounts of revenue to the city. I think we need to carefully dispense with this extra revenue, and not just spend all the money when we get it. Sure we should spend some on public safety improvements, but we should bolster the business climate in the city by lowering the business real estate tax rates to better compete with surrounding communities. The casino is going to bring businesses to the Belmont Street corridor, but what of the rest of the city. It would be nice to have business come back to Main Street. How about lowering the business rate, but leave the industrial rate where it is? What are your thoughts Brockton?

Chris,
You mention that your opinions are based on empirical data. Please share that data with me and the readers so we can compare it with the information that is out there regarding Rust Street.
Here is some data I found on Rush Street:
1. "Rush Street Gaming is investing millions of dollars with the aim of becoming the industry leader in “building a bridge” between children playing casino-like games on social media and smartphones and their going to brick-n-mortar casinos to do real gaming once they are old enough. Knowing that the earlier you begin to gamble, the more likely you are to gamble often and obsessively, [Rush Street] is sowing the seeds digitally to grow the next generation of problem gamblers." “Betting on Kids Online: How One US Casino Company Hopes to ‘Bridge the Space’ Between Real and Virtual Casinos While Making Apps Available to Children via Social Networks and Smartphones” says in its introduction "[O]ne US casino company [Rush Street Gaming] has quietly pursued an Internet strategy that has sidestepped gambling regulators while also explicitly allowing players as young as 13″ to play their virtual games." Posted in news & press, Young Gamblers | Tags: Rush Street Gaming, Young Gamblers.
2. " A large casino workers union has written to the state Gaming Commission complaining about Rush Street Gaming . . . "The letter says workers have encountered several roadblocks considered improper, including firing some who spoke publicly about desiring better working conditions and fair process" and "says that ongoing labor disputes with Rush Street's three domestic casinos, in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Des Plaines, Ill., are unresolved despite settlements made between the company and the National Labor Relations Board." TimesUnion.com.
3. " A Chicago-based gaming company looking to cash in on casinos in New York has a long history of disputes with organized labor, the Daily News has learned. Rush Street Gaming, . . ., been the subject of more than 100 complaints to the National Labor Relations Board since 2009. 'Rush Street certainly has a horrible labor record,” said one labor source with knowledge of the disputes.'" New York Daily News.
I looked up your statement about the vote on working at Rush Street establishments. The interesting point to the article about the ranking in Pennsylvania is "that the placement is . . . determined by scores given to the companies by their own employees through a survey." Given the information about workers being fired for requesting fair process and better working conditions (see #2 and #3 above), it is not surprising that some employees said nice things about Rush Street and thus, how they got the ranking. This is what I meant when I raised the issue of the validity of the statements about Rush Street and the vote. The self report of some employees who may have feared being fired for giving the wrong response does not take away the fact that there have been hundreds of complaints filed against Rush Street by workers. I understand that you are in the business of developing casinos and you want to put the best foot forward. So, while your statement may not be untrue, it really would be more appropriate to explain where the number came from so that the reader can assess the information for themselves.
I reiterate that 35 years of driving gives one a lot more "empirical data" about the traffic on Belmont Street. I am not surprised to learn that you don't live on Belmont and that you never would. I would, however, ask that you give just a little consideration to the people who bought houses in the Belmont Street area and have no other choice but to stay in their homes. I am sure you would not like it very much if things were being done to the area where you live and the people disregarded and/or trivialized your problems and concerns. I am speaking as one who does live there and will continue to have to live there along with hundreds of other residents who are similarly situated. I can assure you that the "empirical data" is that there is nothing normal about having to drive on Belmont Street and any of the streets that enter into or depart from Belmont Street regardless of the time of day or day of the week. And just for your edification my problems with the lights and the traffic has nothing to do with the snow or road conditions; it is entirely due to there already being too much traffic on Belmont Street and the surrounding areas. And we all know all too well about how effective and accurate traffic studies and engineers are when it comes to fixing traffic problems. Just look at the horrendous results created at the Westgate Mall area as a result of thousands of dollars being spent on traffic studies and engineering. The reality is that if there are too many cars on the road there are going to be traffic problems regardless of lights or any other actions done by engineers. Additionally, I am not sure what your point was about the drivers and Stop & Shop, etc. The drivers are the drivers and none of that will change with the casino traffic. But with the casino traffic, we will just have many more drivers on the road that don't stop for lights, exceed the speed limit and break every other traffic rule without ever being held accountable by the police. I have repeatedly complained about traffic enforcement for 35 years and nothing has nor will it ever be done about that issue. Certainly, I don't think that the current answer to that problem is to bring more bad drivers heading to the casinos into the city of Brockton.
As for the illegal gambling, I don't think it is appropriate to lay blame on the parents or their children. When the casinos create an attractive nuisance, the casinos should make sure they prevent the illegal behavior and harm. My point in raising the history of Rush Street is that they have not demonstrated a proven ability to prevent illegal gambling despite being in the casino business for years. And you say that it does not behoove them to allow the illegal behavior but I would disagree. I also think that your statement is rather naive. Sometimes businesses consider sanctions to just be the cost of doing business and write the fines and sanctions off especially if they continue to make a substantial profit over and above the penalties. Additionally, I disagree that it is the responsibility of parents to keep their children out of the casinos. It is entirely the responsibility of the casinos to keep the children out and Rush has not proven that it can meet this responsibility. For example, Rush Street has been fined a dozen times for violating gaming laws in Pennsylvania and Indiana, for a total of $483,000. Incidents include:
$105,000 fine for seven instances of allowing underage patrons to gamble at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh (February 2011)5
$70,000 fine for seven instances of allowing underage patrons to gamble at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia6
$25,000 fine for marketing to people on the Indiana problem gambler selfexclusion list (March 2012)7
$15,000 fine for three cases of allowing three people who were banned from entering casinos to gamble at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia (December 2012)8
Beyond the fines for underage patrons and people banned from their establishments, Rush Street has also been fined for illegal dumping in Philadelphia. “The owners of the SugarHouse Casino have agreed to pay $650,000 to settle claims that their workers illegally dumped material into the Delaware River as the building was being constructed in Fishtown, prosecutors said Monday.”9
Rush Street was also fined $5,000 for making a political contribution in violation of the Pennsylvania state gambling law.10http://votenoslots.com/rush-street-gaming (and cites within). Given all of this, I don't feel that Rush Street has shown that they can do the right thing.
Below is some more data about Rush Street that is on the Internet at votenoslots.com:
At each of their four casinos, Rush Street Gaming has either fought to have its property assessment reduced, or threatened to reduce it:
As soon as Rush Street opened Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, it fought to have its property assessment reduced from $78 million to $30 million.1
Almost as soon as they opened Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, they began lobbying to have their property assessment HALVED, and have continued to do it every single year.2
The city of Philadelphia also was involved in a legal dispute with Sugarhouse Casino over property tax.3
If the state (of Illinois) approves a Chicago casino or slots at horse tracks, then Bluhm wants to be able to add more slot machines and pay lower tax rates in Des Plaines. “We absolutely need both,” Bluhm said when asked whether he would accept one without the other. “We couldn’t possibly survive. The numbers won’t work. If we just lower tax rates and couldn’t expand, we would be crushed.”4
A nanny was allegedly gambling at SugarHouse when a boy who was supposed to be in her charge drowned:
“There is no dispute that Isear Jeffcoat, 7, drowned in a backyard swimming pool June 29 while frolicking with about 20 other students from Tianna’s Terrific Tots daycare center. “But what must be sorted out in a courtroom is if the North Philadelphia daycare’s operator, Tianna Edwards, is responsible for the boy’s death… “Edwards allegedly was gambling at the SugarHouse casino when Isear drowned.”11
There was a robbery spree at SugarHouse. They stole at least 44,500, and used a Taser on the victims, one of whom was a pregnant woman.12
“At least eight lucky casino winners who have left SugarHouse Casino with big smiles and bulging wallets since June didn’t have long to ponder how they’d spend their fortunes: Thugs followed them from the casino, ambushed them at home, and hustled off with their winnings.”13
Crimes associated with gambling addictions at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh:
“In the most recent incident, a former midlevel manager with West Penn Allegheny Health System was arrested and charged Monday with stealing more than $713,000 that authorities say he gambled away. “Ira Johnson, 52, of Penn Hills is charged with 10 counts, including theft, receiving stolen property, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, unlawful use of a computer, dealing in proceeds of illegal activity and misapplication of government funds. “Also on Monday, two Charleroi Area School District cafeteria workers were ordered to stand trial on charges stemming from the theft of $94,000 from the cafeteria they used to gamble on slot machines at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino.14
Neighborhood Agreements. Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh “says it has ‘no current plans’ to extend or renew the agreements that gave $3 million each to the Northside Leadership Conference and the Hill District since the gambling venue opened in 2009. Both monetary agreements, which helped to fund a grocery store in the Hill District and neighborhood revitalization programs on the North Side, expired last year. The casino appears to be in no mood to increase the pot.”15
“A spokesman for one former ally of Bluhm’s in the bidding (for a Chicago-area casino) described him as ‘a fair-weather kind of guy.’ “’He’s with you one minute and then will leave for a better opportunity that might come along,’ said Gary Mack, spokesman for Rosemont Mayor Don Stevens, a Republican. Mack said Rosemont, which borders Chicago and O’Hare International Airport, was Bluhm’s first choice for a casino.
“’When he thought Des Plaines had a better likelihood of getting approved for a license, he bolted and went with Des Plaines,’ Mack said.”16
Hotels. SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia was originally supposed to have a hotel. Even in its second phase, the hotel is not included.17
Scaling Back on Designs. Rush Street significantly scaled back on their plans for their Philadelphia casino, SugarHouse.
“Critics have ridiculed SugarHouse’s low-slung building as a ‘dressed-up Walmart or Home Depot.’”18
The expansion plan was supposed to have a hotel tower, “equipped with a convention-quality ballroom and a concert venue.” None of this will be included in the casino’s expansion.19
Jobs/Labor.
Local and state officials who backed the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh are now fighting to get workers the “good, familysustaining jobs” they were promised.20
“Union organizers are filing unfair labor practice charges claiming that officials at the casino are trying to stop some 800 workers from unionizing. … A total of 38 complaints against Rivers Casino have been filed by Unite Here Local 57 with the National Labor Relations Board.”21,22
An African American employee “claims that his race and prounion leanings cost him his job at the SugarHouse Casino.”23
Rivers Casino (Pittsburgh) salaries:
Housekeeping: $8 per hour
Security workers: $9.50 an hour24
SugarHouse Casino (Philadelphia) salaries:
Table Operator: $4 per hour
Player Services: $12 – $14 per hour25
“workers allege that many of them are paid less than $10.88 per hour”26
Neil Bluhm manages Casino Niagara and the Niagara Fallsview Casino. Recently, they offered buyouts to ALL of their 92 slots attendants, and are encouraging employees to go from fulltime to part-time.27
Economics. There’s been little neighborhood economic spinoff from SugarHouse. More than two years after it opened, the city of Philadelphia is hiring “financial consultants to work assessing the economic impact of each project, including the likelihood of spinoff development, which so far has eluded the riverfront SugarHouse Casino.”28
If the state of Illinois approves a Chicago casino or slots at horse tracks, then Bluhm wants to be able to add more slot machines and pay lower tax rates in Des Plaines. “We absolutely need both,” Bluhm said when asked whether he would accept one without the other. “We couldn’t possibly survive. The numbers won’t work. If we just lower tax rates and couldn’t expand, we would be crushed.”29
Ira Schulman, Neil Bluhm’s business partner in Walton Street Capital, called Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh “a terrible investment.” The Pittsburgh PostGazette reported that “as revenues fell short of projections, the ownership considered filing for bankruptcy before deciding to invest another $108 million in the project.”30
The owners projected that Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh would have $500 million a year in revenue.31 The casino actually has brought in far less – $291 million in 2010 and a budgeted $362 million for 2011. (In slots, they estimated they would bring in $427 million. They have only brought in $241.6 million in 2010 and $274.8 million in 2011.32
“In response to sagging performance, Rivers Casino asked the board to approve its application to eliminate 126 of its 3,000 slot machines.”33
Neighbor relations. Casino developer Steve Wynn referred to SugarHouse as one of the casinos that are “slots joints that cater to neighborhood people.”34
In 2011, “SugarHouse’s Wendy Hamilton told (an industry conference) that a large percentage of her players come three, four, five times a week.”35
Des Plaines ate the cost of getting emergency radio coverage in the casino. “All new buildings must have approved radio coverage for emergency responders inside the building based upon the existing coverage levels of the city’s public safety communication systems… “…emergency personnel were having communications problems when inside the fortresslike Rivers Casino soon after it opened in July 2011. City officials had not anticipated the problem when the $445 million casino was being built on 20 acres off Devon Avenue and Des Plaines River Road. “Des Plaines officials later agreed to pay half the cost to fix that problem roughly $49,000 in total to install upgraded telecommunications equipment inside the casino so police and fire radios can work indoors.”36
Financial Health
“SugarHouse has suffered a drop in slots revenue in five of the past six months compared with a year earlier.”37
In February, their slots revenue was down 9% from the same time the previous year.38
“We have more money in this project (SugarHouse casino) than we really want to have in the first place,” said Neil Bluhm, testifying in a trial where he was sued by fellow investors in SugarHouse. The judge in the lawsuit, Chancery Judge Donald F. Parsons Jr., said that “Bluhm and Carlin… were ‘careless’ in losing track of the budgeted development cost.”39,40
“Though SugarHouse has no competition in the city and a vast population to draw from, firstyear gross revenue was $212.2 million, less than half what market leader Parx generated and 40 percent less than at Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack. “That’s a far cry from what owner HSP Gaming L.P. projected in late 2006. Back then, the company controlled by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm and chief executive Greg Carlin estimated that SugarHouse would open with 3,000 slot machines and generate $320.3 million in revenue in its first year, the most conservative projection among five applicants for two Philadelphia gaming licenses.”41
During the recent economic downturn, Neil Bluhm walked away from a $2.9 billion loan on West Coast properties that had become worth significantly less. His investors lost 42 cents on every dollar they invested.42

Thank you for clarifying where you are coming from. You clearly have a bias as you state that you "have been involved in the development and design of a number of large scale casinos, and have been in construction engineering for the last 13 years." I don't have any such financial interest. Am I to presume you have a financial interest in the current Brockton proposal?

In any event, hopefully people with no financial interest or stake in the project will join this discussion.

P.S. Belmont has been clogged over the past two days at both 4:30 p.m. and again at 12:00 p.m.

Let me rephrase, the topics included in your statements of all the negatives are good topics for discussion. You just didn’t present them that way. You just made a bunch of statements based on your opinions. Whether those opinions are formed based on your research or not, they are still opinions. You’re obviously entitled, and those statements include many topics that do need discussing.

I’m not patting myself on the back, but I have been involved in the development and design of a number of large scale casinos, and have been in construction engineering for the last 13 years. I have many notions already, and they are not so much preconceived as based on empirical data. I am more than happy to read anything you could provide, as there is nothing better than being as informed as possible.

I have lived here for 17 years, I don’t think your first 18 years really give you any other insight to driving in Brockton, no offense. I don’t live on Belmont, and I never would want to, but I drive it at all times of day. I refer to school time (not including fair time) as the only awful time to drive near the proposed site. All other times, traffic moves fairly normal. That stinks you sat through 2 greens, but really, all traffic still is hampered by the mounds of snow and terrible road conditions.

You can disagree all you want, but traffic studies and engineering will show you that proper timing of lights, and a few more of them in busy areas will do much more for easing traffic than adding lanes ever would. You could probably get out of your driveway a lot easier if people were stopped at lights, or going slower, rather than going along at 40-50 mph for ¼ - ½ breaks between lights. West and Belmont stinks for a few reasons, not least of all is no enforcement in this city. Everyone at West thinks they have the right of way when turning left for one thing, when really those exiting Stop & Shop going straight have the right of way. Not, to mention all the illegal turns from Belmont onto West Street. That is not a problem of undersized roads, that’s jerk drivers. During the fair, it’s a madhouse, but that’s because these things aren’t addressed permanently. They just let it fly for 10 days a year.

I agree discussion is needed and must happen for all to be on board and understand. Particularly those who think lights will just make things worse.

I cannot link them for you, but a quick google search for “rush gaming best places to work” pops up quick references to awards in Pittsburgh and Philly. The one in Philly is for 4 years in a row. Take them for what you will, I only mentioned it because I had seen it mentioned elsewhere recently. You can doubt the validity all you want, that doesn’t make it untrue.

I’m not minimizing the problem of underage gambling, just putting it in perspective. And, as I stated elsewhere, the kids are the actual perpetrators of a crime in these instances. They are not invited in, and told they can gamble without issue. The casinos themselves face (and pay) stiff fines for this. They face sanctions and suspension of licenses. It does not behoove them to allow underage gambling. Grooming future gamblers is a different issue, and as far as I know, they are entitled to advertise as they see fit. Really, it’s the responsibility of parents like yourself to keep kids out of casinos, and then if they get past parents and common sense, they run into casino security.

Again, disagree with my statements about Kmart and Downtown. I stand by them and gave some reference and points as to why. I’m comparing the ability to gamble on scratch tickets, megabucks, keno, etc. to gambling at a casino, or at least the ability to throw away money for a chance to hit it big. The ability and the potential for so called “addiction” exists at both locations. One is more glitzy, but that does not make it more dangerous. Many will point to lotteries as more dangerous. Folks going to casinos often have a budget and a plan to do a few things. Convenience store lotteries are more about scraping your last few bucks together for the hope of a big hit. There’s actually a much greater return on investment if you look at it that way when you bet a buck on the big game. You cannot win millions at the casino based on a one dollar bet typically.

Chris,
With all due respect, my points are very good topics for discussion and came as a result of research that I did so far. I am happy to share the research with you so that you can get more properly informed about these matters.
Now that we have the discussion going, I can tell you that just the other day I had to sit through 2 green lights at the intersection of West and Belmont, which is right where the casino would be and it was 12:15 p.m. on just a regular day with nothing special going on. Also, it generally takes me 3-5 minutes to pull out of my street onto Belmont Street and that happens at all times of the day except for between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. And when the fair is going on, you cannot even get down Belmont without being stuck in traffic all day long. So I disagree with your statement that it is just a problem at 7:00 a.m. Maybe I know more about this than you as I drive the road at different times of the day and throughout the week. And I don't think that the answer to people like myself who have lived in the city for well over 35 years is that I should seek an alternate route. Furthermore, lights will do nothing to fix the problem and probably will actually make the problems even worse for the residents whose property abuts the area. So, I again suggest that discussion is what is really needed.
I was not talking about video slots so again you failed to understand and/or know what Rush Street has been involved with. Again, a good reason for discussion as I said as opposed to your "preconceived notions".
I regularly review the best places to work and I challenge you to prove that Rush casinos were voted the best place to work 2 years in a row. And if there is such a vote, I challenge the validity of the vote given that there have been hundreds of complaints to the National Labor Relations Board against Rush companies. The National Labor Relations Board handles complaints from workers against their employer. I can assure you that there are many employers who never have complaints filed against them with the National Labor Relations Board and anyone who has had complaints is not going to be ranked as a good place to work.
I am glad you're not happy about under aged gambling but you seem to minimize this problem. As a parent, I am troubled by anyone who minimizes such a serious issue that could be magnified in Brockton since the high school is going to abut the property not to mention that under aged gambling is against the law. Furthermore, my research does not suggest it is "very few instances". Even if it is not a high number, if Rush was really all that good, they should have figured out how not to have any instances. After all, they supposedly have been in the business for a while. How good are they really if they continue to have the problems at their casinos?
I disagree with your statements about the KMart area and about downtown. I also don't think that you can compare a convenient store to a casino.
We obviously have a different basis of knowledge and points of view so that is what makes for a "discussion" as I said in my post. Glad you joined the discussion and hope others will as well. I am sure there will be many discussions elsewhere before the voters of Brockton have their say. Looking forward to the good discussion everywhere.

Thanks Jeanne.
That's not really offering thoughts for good discussion. That's just a list of your preconceived notions.
You mention poor treatment at Rush casinos, didn't we just read they were voted best place to work 2 years in a row?
Video slots have been popular apps on devices for years, so not Sure about the relevance.
I'm not happy reading about underage gambling. In the grand scheme it's very few instances however out of the millions of people who have passed through the doors of their many casinos.
I'm still having a hard time with everyone's description of Belmont. It has never been a gridlock situation at any time I can think of over the last 17 year's of living and driving here. The only time it sucks to drive thru the immediate area, is close to 7am on Forest. You don't go that way when buses and crossing guards are out. Seek alternate route. Belmont can get busy, but is never ridiculously backed up or slow. Additional lights, and better light timing will go a long way to fixing some of these issues.

Yes, lots of room at K-Mart, but now you're creating a traffic nightmare much worse than the perceived one at Belmont. Basically all the traffic you don't want on Belmont would still exist, and then pass through neighborhood surface streets to get to main street. Also, they'd then come through west bridge, who would then be looking for cash from the developer. Lowering our cash.

Downtown is an idea, however unfortunately, we do not have the infrastructure for it. 9-5 traffic to business can be handled much better downtown than transient visitors with unknown arrival and departures. The train is nice, but is not the preferred method of travel for casino goers, that and the schedule is too anemic to help much.
I won't speak to the addiction aspect, as my feelings on that issue run counter to many folks. It is of note that folks looking for their quick buck, and not against dropping all their loot to do it, already have that ability at every convenience store in town

Here are a few thoughts to get a good discussion going on the casino:
The devil is always in the details so let's see what is really going on with the casino proposal. Who has actually seen the agreement and what back room deals are being made but not disclosed to the tax payers? The city needs help but we don't need more bad business deals like so many from the past. The city needs to be strong like its history and not allow it and its residents to fall prey to those who see Brockton as desperate and an easy target. Brockton already has enough people suffering from addictions; should we really be bringing in yet another addictive industry to take advantage of our residents and drag them down more?
Everyone in Brockton pretty much knows what George Carney is all about and I don't believe it has anything to do with helping Brockton. If he really cared so much about Brockton, why has he allowed the fairground property to become just another blight in the city? The structures on the fairground property are unsightly and have been for many years. And if Carney sells the property, does that mean he has to pay all the back taxes for all the tax breaks he has gotten for all those years on the fairground property? How much will he have to pay the city or is that just getting looped into the "host agreement"? If it is, then it seems like Carney is the one getting the good deal and not the residents of Brockton.
Someone needs to do some serious digging on Rush Street and this guy, Neal Bluhm. A quick Google search suggests this guy and his corporation do not care about Brockton or its residents. Bluhm does not run a good place, which is evidenced by multiple incidents of hundreds of thousands of dollars in assessed fines against him over the years, under aged gambling violations, violations for abetting compulsive gamblers, hundreds of complaints about them to the National Labor Relations Board, and mistreatment of workers. Then there is the company's app that appeals to young children; seems like it would amount to vaccinating the children in Brockton to become victim to yet another addiction, i.e. gambling. And let us not forget that the casino would likely just move the prostitutes and drug dealers from Main Street to Belmont Street.
Lastly, the location is not appropriate for this type of activity. You cannot even drive down Belmont Street on any given day without problems so the street cannot handle more traffic. The residents around the fairgrounds can't even get out of their streets already so even one more car presents an aggravation to the problem. Traffic studies in the city have proven to be useless and dangerous as evidenced by the work done at the Westgate Mall. The proximity to the high school makes it just about the worst location that you could put a casino. If you really want a casino in Brockton, why not put it down near the KMart Plaza; plenty of unused space, not near a school, would get the people actually into the city? Or how about downtown?

I've always said that Chris, people cannot let go of the sleepy little farming town profile that Brockton once was. Combine that with people who cannot explain exactly why they oppose something or parrot another group who cannot explain why they are against something truthfully. Electing the same people to our City Council who have repeatedly made decisions detrimental to the City's growth is another mistake we constantly make.

Love your post Anthony. Right on.
As for the Good Time Emporium getting shot down. That was a BIG mistake. I was very familiar with them in Somerville doing fire inspections and they ran a great business and was on top of things. We lost a big hunk of $ when we turned our backs on them. It was a place for all ages. What do we have for all ages now? I don't think people realize just what they did have to offer.
We need all of what Dave said. Places for people to engage in, not power plants. The Casino is the best bet in ages.
As long as we continue to contribute to the slum factor no one will want to set up a business. It's a known fact yet nothing is ever done about it. We instead welcome more of it so of course it gets worse You have to clean house if you want visitors.

I like it. Good start to thought provoking subject.
I would point out though, saying businesses use less water is misleading. The biggest users of water in the country outside of agricultural uses are commercial buildings.

I'm for lowering commercial tax rates as a means to attract more business to the city, but possibly in a tiered way as mentioned before. Offer lower rates for a set period of time. Let's say X% lower for X years, but that percentage could be greater or more years new construction, or based on total square footage. Lots of things that can be looked into.

Your second chart is a better barometer than the first In my opinion. We tend to look at our neighbors, and forget that we are more comparable to those other small cities than to true suburban towns.

As I've mentioned before, there is justification for cities to have higher tax rates for commercial buildings, but they are tied to amenities that are expected in a city. Businesses will pay a little more if they think it will help them attract and retain top talent. Many people want the things that come with city living and working, and those are the things Brockton is sorely missing. It becomes a real tough sell when you offer nothing but higher rates than the burbs.

Having two big bumps to our commercial tax base come on board like the casino and the power plant might help make the lowering of the commercial tax rate a bit more possible option. They would end up as our two biggest tax payers I believe, based on what the hospitals are paying. The casino would be an immediate top 3 or 4 employer in the city as far as number of employees.

1,500 new jobs nearby, might just help fill a few of those empty homes in the area as well as folks might actually want to live closer to their new job in affordable neighborhoods. I know that's contrary to much of the sky is falling stuff others say about people moving out, but if it happens, that's another increase to tax base.

As much as these newer projects can help increase our tax base, I still see downtown as the biggest anchor that is hurting our ability to attract business. Our city has pretty much done all of the bad things from the 50's-80's as far as bad urban design to help kill downtown as a neighborhood. We cannibalized it by building a suburban mall on the outskirts of town. We tore down buildings or let them fall into disrepair and need to come down and replaced them with more suburban garbage or empty parking lots. We centralized and clustered government buildings. We focused only on our main drags entering and exiting town with big box stores surrounded by acres of parking.

Basically this city has a personality disorder, and it is clear in the residents response to every new proposal, that everyone thinks this is and should be a sleepy suburban, residential town, and everyone should drive to get to their jobs. We once were an ideal, fast growing urban center, but lost track of that in the suburban sprawl days.

Things are coming around in this country to where people want to live in cities again. Young people are moving in droves, and companies and jobs are relocating back into the cities very quickly. We need to capitalize on that, and reinvent ourselves as the city we should be if we want to attract these jobs and young professionals everyone mentions constantly.

Here's hoping some of these recent steps in that direction continue, and people in places of responsibility in this city start looking at big picture planning as opposed to getting blinded by one bright shiny option after another. We can work our way into a corner real fast if we don't keep some of these developments in line with an eye to the future. I look at the new CVS on Belmont that replaced the old Paramount building (and two other businesses) with a suburban CVS surrounded by too much parking. This lot had much bigger potential than that. The location and shape of the parcel would have allowed for interesting architecture, some height, and put a CVS and a few other things at the ground level.

The problem is the proliferation of non-profits. This is why Mayor Carpenter is a fan of PILOTs.

Thing is, nobody wants to acknowledge that elephant. Why? Because historically, non-profits are viewed as agents designed to serve the community with a public good. And while this has been true, too many of them- along with ones that front as churches to run a business- can adversely affect the much needed tax base in order to sustain a community. As a result, businesses are hit heavy, as are residential property owners. And it's all downhill from there in more ways than I care to list as it relates to poverty, crime, disposable income, etc..